AUSTIN, Minn. – In their first home game since November 20, 2020, the Bruins managed to battle back and defeat the Chippewa Steel, 2-1, by way of the shootout.
Since resuming play following the holiday break, the Bruins have yet to score the games’ first goal and the same sentiment held true on Friday against the Steel. Less than three minutes into the game, Steel defenseman Spencer Cox ripped a wrist-shot through traffic and over the shoulder of Bruins netminder Tyler Shea. For Cox, it was his first NAHL goal and helped the Steel get out to a 1-0 lead.
From there, both Shea and Chippewa goalie Gus Bylin stood tall kicking aside every shot that came their way. It was on the Bruins sixth power-play opportunity of the night, midway through the third period that the score was leveled. One of the newest members of the team, defenseman Grayson Valente, snapped a shot from the right point which found its way through traffic in front of the net and past Bylin to even the score at 1-1.
Through the remainder of the third period and all of the second period, neither team could pick up the game-winner and a shootout was needed. In the fourth round, Tyler Shea stopped forward Grisha Gotovets’ attempt setting the stage for a game-winner from Garrett Dahm. The third-year Austin Bruins swung in wide to the right and slipped a shot through the five-hole of Bylin and across the line to earn the win for the Bruins.
With the victory, Austin improves to 5-6-2-1 on the season while the Steel slip to 2-6-0-1 on the year. Tyler Shea earned the victory while Gus Bylin was handed the loss. The two teams will meet again on January 29, 2020, at Riverside Arena, the next home game for the Bruins. Tickets for that game are on sale now by visiting www.austinbruins.com and navigating to the tickets tab and selecting single-game-tickets. More immediately, the Bruins are on the road Saturday night against the Minnesota Wilderness to complete a three-in-three.
